Links

The following are some of the local websites that you may find useful in researching Cerne Abbas and your local historical connections.

Dorset History Centre -DCC link The Centre is the central repository for all Dorset historical records and also holds much of the material previously held in the Dorchester Reference Library.  It is also possible to use the computers to access the sizable ‘Ancestry’ database.

Dorset History Centre – Online Catalogue A searchable database of all archived material which is being added to as documents and artefacts are conserved, catalogued and listed.

Dorset County Museum The Museum holds regular exhibitions of local historical interest. It also has a collection of items of local interest on display.

Dorset Online Parish Clerks The Dorset Online Parish Clerks project is dedicated to researching family history in the West Country and making the results freely available to the general public. Each voluntary researcher takes on a particular parish and produces transcripts of useful documents. Long lists may be searched more easily by using the ‘Ctrl+F’ for ‘Find’ function on Windows machines. Cerne Abbas has been well-researched, as have many other parishes in Dorset.

Somerset and Dorset Family History Society (SDFHS) The SDFHS aims to provide assistance to all those researching their family history in the two counties.

Dorset Family History Society For beginners and expert researchers living both in the UK and overseas. Useful site with a sizable list of links.

Dorset History Network ‘Building a history community in Dorset’ through sharing knowledge and promoting research about the history of Dorset.

British Listed Buildings  Individual descriptions are made of the many Listed Buildings in the village. Whilst the surveys in many cases were made from the outside of buildings, the listings give a flavour of the style and importance of some of the varied architectural genres to be found in Cerne.

Dorchester Library Dorchester Library offers free online access to Ancestry.co.uk and you may use the free wi-fi with your own device.  Printing over wi-fi is not allowed. You may however, use a library computer and booking is necessary.  This may be done online by clicking the Library link above.

Historic England Archive Over a million records may now be searched online. Find out about the history of your home. Learn about your local area.  Research individual buildings and archaeological sites.  Discover England’s changing urban and rural landscape.

Dorset Explorer maps website A fascinating County repository for Maps and photographs, historic and modern, zoomable and clickable.

National Library of Scotland Access high-resolution zoomable images of over 140,000 maps of Scotland, England, Wales and beyond.

Cerne Abbas Water Meadows Restoration Project  John Staley, a retired estates manager has supervised their partial restoration.  Water meadows, constructed from the 16th to the early 20th centuries, were areas of grassland subject to controlled irrigation to increase agricultural productivity.  In Cerne Abbas we are fortunate to have a complex water meadow at Barton Farm. Access is obtained via the footpath to the East of the Tithe Barn. Maintenance of the Meadows is currently undertaken by Roy Burnham at Barton Farm, and his team.

Cerne Abbas Copy of the Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forest – David Carpenter.  As a follow-up to his popular talk in May 2016, David has provided this link to a text on the University of East Anglia website where a summary is to be found together with links to the whole Magna Carta Project at the University.

Local History Online A directory of local history societies in Dorset.

Cerne Valley Website This is the official website of the Cerne Valley Parish Council and the Cerne Valley Community. It contains much useful information about the village and what facilities and services are available locally, via the Directory section.